The popularity of agave syrup, also called agave nectar,
is on a meteoric rise -- thanks in large part to clever
marketing which positions the product as a healthy alternative
to sugar and artificial sweeteners. Now, more experts are
speaking out on the debatable health benefits of agave.

Agave is also heavily promoted as a low glycemic food,
enticing diabetics.

The Amazing Power of Marketing

In case you doubt the influence of marketing in setting
trends and consumer buying habits, look at these statistics:

Agave can now be found in prepared tea, energy and health
drinks, nutrition bars, desserts, and other food items typically
found in health food stores.

Agave is also quickly crossing over from the health food
market to mainstream grocery chains, and consumers (especially
vegans and raw food enthusiasts) are buying up bottles of
the stuff to use in place of other sweeteners, like honey.

Why Agave Syrup is the Hottest New Trend in Sugar Alternatives

Taste. Agave has a
subtle, delicate flavor many people enjoy.

Sweetness. Agave syrup
can be up to three times as sweet as table sugar, so it
takes less to sweeten a food or beverage.

Public perception.
Highly effective agave product marketing campaigns have
per­suaded consumers the sweetener is a healthy alternative
to sugar. As more and more people veer away from deadly
artificial sweeteners and high fructose corn syrup (but
not from their sugar addiction, unfortunately), they are
on the hunt for safer, healthier alter­natives.

About the Agave Plant

Agaves grow primarily in Mexico, but you can also find
them in the southern and west­ern United States, as
well as in South America. Previously, it was most commonly
known as a primary ingredient of tequila. Agaves are not
cacti, but are actually related to the lily and amaryllis
families of plants.

There are over 100 species of agave plants, in a wide variety
of sizes and colors.

Edible parts of the agave are the flowers, leaves, stalks
and the sap. It is the sap of the plant that is used to
make agave syrup.

Commercially available agave syrup or nectar is thought
to be produced primarily from blue agave plants grown in
Southern Mexico. This is because the blue agave has a high
carbohydrate content which results in a high concentration
of fructose in the final prod­uct.

Harvesting the Sap

When an agave plant is about seven to ten years old, the
leaves are removed to expose the core, or pina, of the plant.
The harvested pina looks like a large pineapple and can
weigh anywhere from 50 to 150 pounds.

Sap is removed from the pina, filtered, and heated to break
down the carbohydrates into sugars.

The same agave plant produces all three varieties of commercially
sold syrup, depend­ing on the amount of heat used in
processing. These varieties include:

* raw (color is similar to maple syrup and flavor is similar
to caramel)
* light (lighter color and flavor than raw)
* amber (similar in color and flavor to raw)

Many varieties of agave nectar are processed at relatively
low temperatures (below 118°F) and are marketed as a
raw food.

When the agave sap is heated, the complex fructosans are
hydrolyzed, or broken into their constituent fructose units.
The fructose-rich solution is then filtered to obtain the
desired products that range from dark syrup with a characteristic
vanilla aroma, to a light amber liquid with more neutral
characteristics.

The Myth of Agave as a Healthy Sugar Substitute

* Agave syrup is neither a natural
food nor organic

Fully chemically processed sap from the agave plant is
known as hydrolyzed high fructose inulin syrup. It needs
to be hydrolyzed so that the complex fructosans are "broken
down" into fructose units or it won't be sweet!

According to Dr. Ingrid Kohlstadt, a fellow of the American
College of Nutrition and an associate faculty member at
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health:

[Agave is] almost all fructose, highly processed sugar
with great marketing.

* Agave syrup is not low calorie.

Agave syrup is about 16 calories per teaspoon, the same
as table sugar.

* Agave syrup may not have a
low glycemic index.

Depending upon where the agave comes from and the amount
of heat used to proc­ess it, your agave syrup can be
anywhere from 55 percent to 90 percent fructose, whereas
sugar and honey are closer to 50% fructose and 50% glucose.
Fructose is much sweeter than glucose, and this chemical
makeup also explains why the glycemic index is lower (it
only takes glucose into account).

This range of fructose content hardly makes agave syrup
a logical choice if youre hoping to avoid the high
levels of fructose in HFCS (high fructose corn syrup).

And if youre diabetic, you should know that the alleged
benefit of agave for diabetics is purely speculative. Very
few agave studies have been docu­mented, and most involved
rats. There have been no clinical studies done on its safety
for diabetics.

Since most agave syrup has such a high percentage of fructose,
your blood sugar will likely spike just as it would if you
were consuming regular sugar or HFCS, and you would also
run the risk of raising your triglyceride levels. Its
also important to understand that whereas the glucose in
other sugars are converted to blood glucose, fructose is
a relatively unregulated source of fuel that your liver
converts to fat and cholesterol.

A significant danger here is that fructose does not stimulate
your insulin secretion, nor enhance leptin production, which
is thought to be involved in appetite
regulation.

Fructose is also more readily turned into fat than glucose,
and it must be processed by the liver before being used
as energy (unlike glucose which can be used by cells for
energy more directly).

Because insulin and leptin act as key signals in regulating
how much food you eat, as well as your body weight, dietary
fructose can also contribute to increased food intake and
weight gain.

Therefore, if you need to lose weight, fructose is one
type of sugar youll definitely want to avoid, no matter
what the source is.

Other Dangers of Fructose

In addition, consuming high amounts of concentrated fructose
may cause health problems ranging from mineral depletion,
to insulin resistance, high blood pressure, cardiovascular
disease, and even miscarriage in pregnant women.

Fructose may also interfere with your bodys ability
to metabolize copper. This can result in depletion of collagen
and elastin, which are vital connective tissues. A copper
deficiency can also result in anemia, fragile bones, defects
in your arteries, infertility, high choles­terol and
heart disease, and uncontrolled blood sugar levels.

Additionally, fructose consumption has been shown to significantly
increase uric acid. Elevated lev­els of uric acid are
markers for heart disease. It has also been shown to increase
blood lactic acid, especially in diabetics. Elevations in
lactic acid can result in metabolic acido­sis.

Isolated fructose has no enzymes, vitamins or minerals
and can rob your body of these nutrients in order to assimilate
itself. Hence, consumption of fructose can also lead to
loss of vital minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, and
zinc.

Other Reasons You Should Steer Clear of Agave

1. There are very few quality controls in place to monitor
the production of agave syrup. Nearly all agave sold in
the U.S. comes from Mexico. Industry insiders are concerned
agave distributors are using lesser, even toxic, agave plants
due to a shortage of blue agave.

There are also concerns that some distributors are cutting
agave syrup with corn syrup -- how often and to what extent
is anyones guess. In addition, the FDA has refused
shipments of agave syrup due to excessive pesticide residues.

2. Agave syrup is not a whole food -- it is fractionated
and processed. The sap is sepa­rated from the plant
and treated with heat, similar to how maple sap is made
into maple syrup. Agave nectar is devoid of many of the
nutrients contained in the original, whole plant.

3. Agave syrup is not a live food. The natural enzymes
are removed to prevent agave syrup from fermenting and turning
into tequila in your food pantry or cabi­net.

4. Agave is, for all intents and purposes, highly concentrated
sugar. Sugar and sweet­eners wreak havoc on your health
and are highly addictive.

The Case Against Sugar

No matter your nutritional type, sugar (including fructose
or sucrose) is not good for you. Certainly you can tolerate
small amounts if you are healthy and the majority of your
diet is healthy, but lets face it the average American
is consuming over 150 pounds a year of sugar or nearly half
a pound a day. Ideally your annual consumption should be
well under ten pounds per YEAR.

Sugar
increases your insulin
and leptin
levels and decreases receptor sensitivity of both these
hormones. This can lead to a wide range of health problems,
including weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, high
cholesterol, premature aging, and heart dis­ease.

Sugar suppresses your immune system, causing problems with
allergies and digestive disorders. It can even bring on
depression.

Worse Than Any Sugar: Artificial Sweeteners

The worst of all possible choices are artificial sweeteners.
They are, without question, far more damaging to your health
than regular sugar.

While it's not recommended, consuming sugar in moderation
isnt likely to cause serious health problems. Moderation
in this case is five pounds or less per year, which is a
far cry from the 150 pounds per year consumed by the majority
of Americans.

If youre interested in kicking your sugar addiction,
try a meridian tapping technique called Turbo
Tapping, which has helped thousands of people kick their
sugar and soda habits.

Have You Tried Stevia?

If youre determined to sweeten your foods and beverages,
consider using stevia. Stevia
is a sweet herb, safe and natural. It is much sweeter than
sugar, but has no calories.

In the U.S., youll find stevia not in the sweetener
aisle of your local grocery, but in the supplement section.
It can be used in appetizers, beverages, soups, salads,
vegetables, desserts -- just about anything.

If youve tried stevia and were bothered by an aftertaste,
it could be the way the plant was processed. You should
try a few different brands until you find one that tastes
good.

Avoid the white stevia powder and the stevia liquid drops
as they have been highly processed.

However, if you have insulin issues, high blood pressure,
high cholesterol, diabetes, or if youre overweight,
avoid all sweeteners, including stevia, since any sweetener
can decrease your insulin sensitivity.

- Use dried fruits.
If you need a syrup consistency, just soak the
dried fruits in some water and blend them up with the same
soak water. Dates, figs, and prunes are some of the sweetest
dried fruits that tend to work well in recipes. Try wet
Barhi dates blended with a little water for an amazing maple
syrup substitute. Please note: Since there are no raw labeling
standards, some dried fruit may be dried at higher than
118 degrees, and thus, not really raw. If you want to ensure
you are eating really raw dried fruit, it is best do dehydrate
it yourself.

- Raw Honey is a concentrated
sweetener, and although not recommended, it is better than
agave syrup because it is a whole food and occurs naturally.
Of course, honey is not vegan and that may be a concern
for some.

Other concentrated sweeteners that are often
seen in raw food recipes include:

1) Maple Syrup which
is not raw and heat processed. If it is not organic, it
may also contain formaldehyde and other toxic chemicals.

2) Sucanat or evaporated cane
juice is pure dried sugar cane juice. Unfortunately,
this is processed at a temperature above 118 degrees and
therefore cant be considered raw.

3) Yacon Syrup is a
syrup from the root of the yacon plant in South America.
It is once again, a concentrated sweetener processed at
a temperature of up to 140 degrees farenheight.

Eat whole fresh fruits and vegetables, they are always
best. Always question processed and concentrated foods that
are not found in nature, even if raw.